Symposium

Annual full-day symposium organized by the Trainees Committee. This includes 10 minute oral presentations and poster presentations, and a Keynote speaker. In addition to members of our program, 4 trainees from other Canadian Universities are invited every year to encourage networking and foster collaborations. Awards are given for the best 3 oral and poster presentations. This forum gives our trainees an opportunity to present their research findings in a formal conference type setting. All trainees who are part of the Program are expected to present.

Dr. Bilbo’s lab researches mechanisms by which the immune, endocrine and nervous systems interact, particularly during development, to influence behavioral outcomes such as cognition, addiction, and emotion. There is evidence from both animal and human studies that implicates the immune system in a number of disorders with known or suspected developmental origins, including schizophrenia, anxiety/depression, and autism. The goal of her work is to determine how distinct challenges during perinatal development, such as hypoxia, infection, drug abuse and diet, influence brain structure and function across a lifetime. They are also exploring how interventions, such as nurturing maternal care or environmental enrichment, can work to counteract the deleterious effects of early-life infection, trauma, or stress, via their impact on neuro-immune communication.

Barry McColl – Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh

Dr. McColl’s lab focuses on two major themes: (i) understanding how interactions between brain and immune cells regulate normal brain function; (ii) understanding how immune and inflammatory processes contribute to chronic neurodegeneration, acute brain damage, and repair. They are working on how a novel class of peptides produced by neurons regulates microglial function and contributes to the preservation of neuronal homeostasis. They are studying how ageing affects neuronal-microglial communication, and the transcriptional basis for microglial diversity that enables these cells to adapt to their microenvironment and support neuronal function. Their recent studies have shown how acute or chronic inflammatory conditions originating outside the brain (e.g. infection, vascular disease) can aggravate tissue damage and inflammation after a subsequent brain injury.